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Pope Linus
your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.|Saint Paul|2 Timothy 4:21}} Pope St. Linus was the second pope of the Holy Catholic Church from c. 68 - c. 79 AD. St. Irenaeus says, "After the Holy Apostles founded and set the Church in order (in Rome) they gave over the exercise of the episcopal office to Linus. The same Linus is mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to Timothy. His successor was Anacletus." Early Bishops of Rome The earliest witness to Linus's status as bishop was Irenaeus, who in about the year 180 wrote, "The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate." The Oxford Dictionary of Popes interprets Irenaeus as classifying Linus as the first bishop of Rome. Oxford Dictionary of Popes, 2005 Linus is presented by Jerome as "the first after Peter to be in charge of the Roman Church and by Eusebius as "the first to receive the episcopate of the church at Rome, after the martyrdom of Paul and Peter". John Chrysostom wrote, "This Linus, some say, was second Bishop of the Church of Rome after Peter", while the Liberian Catalogue presents Peter as the first Bishop of Rome and Linus as his successor in the same office. The Liber Pontificalis also presents a list that makes Linus the second in the line of bishops of Rome, after Peter, while also stating that Peter consecrated two bishops, Linus and Anacletus, for the priestly service of the community, devoting himself instead to prayer and preaching, and that it was to Clement that he entrusted the Church as a whole, appointing him as his successor. Tertullian too wrote of Clement as the successor of Peter. Jerome classified Clement as "the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter" (i.e., fourth in a series that included Peter), adding that, "most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle." The Apostolic Constitutions denote that Linus, who was consecrated by Paul, was the first bishop of Rome and was succeeded by Clement, who was ordained and consecrated by Peter. Cletus is considered Linus's successor by Irenaeus, and the others cited above, who present Linus either as the first bishop of Rome or, if they give Peter as the first, as the second. Papacy Following the martyrdom of St. Peter, St. Linus wrote of the martyrdom of both Sts. Peter and Paul. St. Linus then succeeded St. Peter as the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. He reportedly created fifteen bishops and eighteen priests. He also drove many demons out of possessed persons by his faith and sanctity. The Liberian Catalogue and the Liber Pontificalis date Linus's episcopate to 56–67, during the reign of Nero, but Jerome dates it to 67–78, and Eusebius puts the end of his episcopate at the second year of the reign of Titus (80). Sources *Catholic Encyclopedia Pope St. Linus *A Catholic Life Pope Linus *Wikipedia Pope Linus *2 Timothy 4:21 References Category:Popes Category:Papal Saints Category:Saints Category:Bishops Category:1st century bishops Category:People in the Pauline epistles Category:1st-century popes Category:Seventy disciples Category:Biblical Saints Category:Male People